Apologies & Addendums
by properploys
Summary: A missing scene from Duets taking place between the library scene and their performance, and possibly the birth of an inside joke.


Messy. That's what this whole thing was. A mess. It wasn't the kind of mess Mrs. Pillsbury was always complaining about either, but Tina sure wished it was, because messes of the physical variety were much easier to clean than those of the emotional kind. It all started when she yelled at her boyfriend. Her sweet, loving, well meaning, boyfriend. She was frustrated and upset, and she felt she had a right to be, but that didn't mean she wasn't also feeling guilty for the way she chose to voice those feelings. Or yell them rather, that seemed like a more accurate description of the scene that took place between them in the library the other day, and she'd been feeling guilty ever since.

Matters were only made worse by the fact that she'd thought, even for a second, that it was a good idea to turn to Artie after conceding to the fact that she didn't have a willing partner for the duets assignment and competition. Not only had things not turned out how she hoped, but to top it off, it was slightly humiliating with a side of reminder. Reminder as to why she had broken up with him in the first place. She wasn't sure how many people heard him when he accused her of crawling back to him, but she hoped it wasn't many. She really had only wanted to sing with him as friends, but the accusation served as proof that even now he didn't listen to the words that came out of her mouth.

Feeling defeated, Tina walked into the empty choir room after the last bell rang, and dropped her messenger bag in one of the many chairs before firmly planting her butt in the one next to it. She really just wanted this day, this week, this whole contest to be over. She'd been excited when Mr. Schue first brought it up, but now, all the wind had been completely knocked out of her sails. Her plan now, was to tell him that she was pulling herself out of the competition due to lack of partner. Not only did she lack the guts to try and do it all by herself as Kurt had done, but she was also aware she'd never be able to pull it off the way had. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't one for stealing other people's ideas, and as far as she knew, there wasn't anyone else to do it with. Glancing at the clock, she wondered how long it would take for him to get from his last Spanish class of the day to the choir room, she knew he'd be there, he always dropped by at the very least, and she just wanted to get this over with. Just the thought of giving up was making her feel sick, or maybe it was the fact she and Mike still hadn't made up. Either way, she felt like she wanted to puke, and the sooner she could get home, the better.

At the sound of footsteps entering the room, she looked up, taken aback by who she saw standing in the doorway. Mr. Schue was the only person she thought it would be, but if it was anyone else, the last person she'd expect was "Mike?"

He smiled. It was that sweet smile, the one she loved so much. Then he made his way over to where she was sitting. "I thought I'd find you in here."

"Liar." She turned to look at him curiously as he took a seat next to her, a small smirk playing in the corner of her lips. Maybe they'd been fighting, but it was hard not to feel the slightest twitch of a smile when he looked at her like that. "You know better than anyone that I speed home as fast as I can at the end of the day…who told?"

He laughed. God why was he doing that? Showing up, then the smile, then that laugh. Wasn't she supposed to be mad still? He made it impossible. Instead, all she was feeling was increasing guilt for how she'd yelled at him. "Mercedes told me." Ah, Mercedes, she should have known. Although she didn't seem to care as much that the beans had been spilled this time. She might even go as far as to say she was thankful. Maybe. That had yet to be seen. "I didn't want you to drop out you know. You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do." She furrowed her brows and looked at him like he was crazy. "I don't have a partner, and that's kind of the point."

"So what am I? Chop liver?" The confusion returned to her face, something he obviously found amusing. "I never said I wouldn't do anything with you, I just don't want you to expect too much. I'm not like Puck, or Kurt, or any of the guys, and ok, maybe I'm not as bad at singing as I said, but I don't compare to them. We wouldn't stand a chance and I just don't want you to get your hopes up. You though? You sound like an angel." Her cheeks started turning pink, and in a matter of seconds would be a bright red color. "I don't think they realize just how beautiful you sound, and I can move, I know that much. I just thought we should play to our strengths."

"You don't think I hear you, do you?" She cocked her head to side and studied his face.

"What?" It was his turn to look at her like she was nuts, and her turn to laugh.

"In the car, when we go out. I hear you, singing along to the radio." And now, it was his turn to blush as well. "I know you don't believe in yourself, for whatever reason, but you should. I think you're better than you know." Reaching out to take his hand, she offered him a warm smile as she threaded her fingers through his and gave a light squeeze. She would never get tired of the way her hand felt so small in his, but how it felt like it fit there at the same time. "I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but I want you to know, I wouldn't even suggest it if I didn't think you could do it."

She adored the way he laughed. It wasn't that laugh he gets when she says something she doesn't realize is funny at first though. It was the one that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, the one that told her he was happy being with her, the one that told her he wasn't sure what to say because he's that genuinely modest and honestly flattered, if not also surprised by what she had to say. She liked that laugh. "What if you're the only one who thinks all that?" He finally said.

"Would that be so bad if I was?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I don't think I will be though."

His eyes met hers with a look in them that made her smile, but then again, it never took much from him to cause the corners of her lips to curve upward. "You really do believe I can do this, don't you?" She nodded. The expression he wore was one that was hard to read, but she didn't have to try and figure it out on her own for long, because after a minute he spoke up again. "I know this really means a lot to you, and if you think I can do it, that's good enough for me."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up with a flicker of excitement that she tried to contain for some reason, maybe an attempt to not kill the current mood, she wasn't entirely sure.

He laughed as his hand slid up the side of her cheek. "Really." She loved it when he looked at her like that, like he adored everything about her, but maybe that was partly due to the fact that he always gave her that look right before he was about to kiss her, and this time was no exception.

"We don't have to do anything over the top." She continued the second he pulled away, her mind already spinning with ideas. "We can just have fun. I don't want you to be uncomfortable, but I really do think we can do something great. I mean look what we did with Dream a Little Dream, and on short notice! We were born to be partners." She smiled at him, still holding onto his hand as she went to get up. "Come on, we can look through the-" Stopping, she turned around and frowned when she felt the tug of his arm that told her he hadn't followed her lead and gotten up. "What?"

"Hold on a second." She scrunched her face up at him, expecting a smile, but he didn't, which only caused her frown to deepen. "We're not done yet. Sit down." He spoke softly, not with any anger, but she had a feeling she knew where this was going. Moving slowly, she let go of his hand, took a couple steps back to her chair and sat down. "So…what about the other stuff?" His head dipped down to try and catch her eye when her attention moved rapidly from his face to the floor. Yeah, this was the part she was dreading. She, admittedly, had been a bit of a bitch to him. She knew there were better ways to voice her frustration. "About our dates…and my mom?" He continued, trying to nudge her in the right direction, when she didn't say anything.

"I know what you meant." She spoke quietly with a hint of shame in her voice.

"Well?" He nudged her again, after a minute of silence. He didn't sound impatient, or angry, but she knew they weren't leaving until they talked about it. He did deserve that much, but she was feeling more than a little embarrassed about the way she snapped. The look on his face while she went off on her unstoppable tangent had been burned in her brain. It was worse than someone who looked like they'd just seen their puppy get kicked, and she was the cause of it, no one else but her. That wasn't the best feeling in the world, more akin to the worst, actually. "It's obvious we need to talk about it. It bothers you; I think you made that pretty clear."

Letting out a long sigh, she pulled her feet up, crossing them in her seat, and turned toward him again, though her eyes still didn't meet his. "It's not that. I mean not exactly…I don't know." He was wearing his favorite pair of sneakers, and she knew this because that's where her gaze was transfixed. It was a million times easier talking to his shoes than it was talking to him right now.

"Babe, come on." Nudge nudge nudge. It really wasn't helping that he was staying so calm and even, it would be easier if he got angry, then she could get mad instead of feeling so guilty. "You didn't seem to have trouble putting it in words the other day. Just talk to me, please?"

She buried her face in her hands, scrubbing her face while she tried to think of the best way to say what she was thinking. How to get her point across without hurting him anymore than she already had. "Ok." She sighed again, lifting her head to finally look at him. "First, I'm really sorry about all that, I am, and I want you to know that." She paused, waiting to see if he wanted to say anything, but now that she was actually talking, it didn't seem like he wanted to interrupt her flow. Either that or he didn't forgive her. She hoped for the former. "I love the way you embrace your culture, you and I are different that way, we were raised in differently and I love who I am and where I come from, but not the way you do, and I love how much you love you mom. I know people want to say that's not cool or whatever, but I think it says a lot about the kind of guy you are and why I like you in the first place. It's just…sometimes…" Her hands were in her lap now, wringing themselves around each other, because she didn't know what else to do with them. "I get sick of it; I need a break from all the stuff that's so…so…so Asian." She stared at him with a slight wince, afraid he'd be offended or hurt or something of the like.

"Why didn't you just tell me that? I thought you liked Dim Sum and you and my mom always seemed to get along. I didn't realize there was ever anything about it that bothered you." There he went, being her idea of perfect again. It killed her at the same time as it made her fall for him more. Then, he cracked a small smile, something that put her slightly at ease.

"No, I love it! I do. I wouldn't call it my favorite, but it is high on the list, and your mom," She broke into a smile to match his, wanting him to know she genuinely meant what she was saying. "your mom's wonderful. All my favorite things about you, they seem to come from her, and you know, she tells the best stories about when you were little, especially when she's got pictures to go with them." Her smile curved into more of a smirk while the pink coloring returned to Mike's cheeks. "I love all that, I really do and it's so you and your world and completely different from mine and I like that, I like doing something different, but that's just it. We've done it so much that it's not different anymore, it's become the same old same old, and as much as I do love your mom, a little time that's just us wouldn't hurt, and I guess I just kept waiting for you to realize I was bored."

"Hey, you never told me being a mind reader was part of this whole dating you deal." It could have sounded snarky, it easily could have come off in a way like he was trying to pick a fight, but the wink he shot her and the nudge from his elbow made it clear he was teasing, trying to lighten the mood, and at the same time, he made a point she couldn't argue with.

"I get it, I get it." A short chuckle slipped out, and she adjusted the way she was sitting, pulling her knees up to her chest now so that she could hug them and let her chin rest on top while she peered at him across the short distance that separated them.

"Good." He flashed a quick smile. "From now on, we'll tone it down a little on all the 'Asian' stuff. I can do that. Next time though, just tell me, ok? That's all you have to do. If you're not happy, I'm not happy, because it hurts me to know you're upset…like right now. I don't like that pout."

"I'm not pouting." She stuck her bottom lip out farther than it already was and suppressed a giggle.

"Oh, see now you're just doing it on purpose. I'm gonna have to do something about that." Reaching out, he grabbed hold of the seat of her chair and pulled it, along with her, closer to him. The quick, jerky motion as the chair slid across the floor caught her by surprise and she let out the combination of a laugh and a scream which caused a big grin to cross his face.

"Wait!" She pushed his hands away with a sly grin when he reached out to, seemingly, pull her onto his lap. "Hold on. I need to add an addendum to this Asian-ness contract." She scowled at him playfully when he lifted a skeptical brow, most likely questioning the use of her words, but it was the best she could come up with on the spot. "Shut up! Just go with it."

"Hey" He lifted his hands in such a way as to proclaim his innocence. "I didn't say anything."

"Shhhh!" She waved a hand at him. "Ok so, I think need to correct one small detail. I need you to know that there is one Asian thing I'll never get sick of, or bored with."

"Oh yeah?" His eyebrow lifted higher. "And what's that?"

Her face twisted into a slow growing grin, one that was worthy of the cheesy answer she was about to give. "You."

"Is that so?" His lips curled into a grin to match, and his hands reached out for her again, but instead of pulling her over to his lap when they made contact with her sides, his fingers began dancing up and down quickly while she let out a squeal and started squirming. "What about Asian tickles?"

"Ah! Stop it!" She laughed, trying to pull his hands off of her, though it was quite clear she wasn't really mad, or really trying to stop him. "Or Asian ass kickings!" She threw out, kicking her foot at him, being careful that she didn't actually make contact.

"Or how about…" He stopped tickling her, but only so he could jump up out of his chair. Taking hold of her hand, he tugged her arm as a signal for her to do the same, and once she did, he spun her around and let her spin back into him. "Asian dancing?" It was a simple little, always ready, go to dance all their own, and she knew what came next. Her grin widened when he scooped her up in his arms and she clung onto his neck as he twirled her around the room. It was impossible to worry or be upset when he was acting like this. It was her favorite part of him, of them.

"I suppose," She continued the game they had created after he put her back down on the floor. "the same could be said for Asian hugs." The smile on her face faded into an earnest expression as she slipped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly with everything she had. "I'm really sorry. I really am. I never wanted to start a fight with you."

"I know you are." She felt his fingers comb lightly through her hair before he squeezed her back. The way his arms seemed to engulf her whole, so much tinier than his, body always made her feel like everything was going to be ok and she knew it really was. "It's ok; I forgive you, but only as long as you forgive me for being an oblivious and clueless boy sometimes."

"I forgive you." She laughed softly, loosening her grip on him just enough to look up and meet his eyes.

"Good." He nodded, smiling down at her. "Asian kiss?"

She let out a loud laugh, but nodded with a grin, and raised herself up on tip toe to catch his lips. "Asian kiss."


End file.
